Chapter 9

            I thought I’d known the meaning of challenge, but after six months of training under Master Roshi, I considered re-writing it’s definition in the dictionary.

            To start it off, was the morning.  Waking up at 4:30 a.m. every single morning, the sun not even rising on the horizon, no birds or blue sky to great you when you wake up. 

To start every day, I would put on my training clothes, strap on my shell, and then go downstairs to begin training.  Every training day began the same, the three main exercises that he’d made me do when I started training under him, only done several times over.  Every week I trained under him, he added 100 more push ups and squats, and 200 sit-ups to my wake-up routine.  At the end of six months, I was up to 3000 push-ups/squats and twice as many sit-ups every single morning.  That was just getting started though.  After breakfast, which was immediately after the morning “stretch”, I went outside and practiced the most basic punches, kicks, and blocks over and over again for two hours.  I went full speed of course, not stopping for anything, even exhaustion, which was usually settling in right about then.

            By the time that was over, my entire body felt ready to give in, I couldn’t feel my muscles or my bones anymore.  Luckily I had a small rest period (1 minute) followed by practicing my ki attacks.  Even though I knew I’d almost reached my maximum potential under Master Roshi, he still hadn’t taught me the Kamehameha, so I couldn’t practice it during that hour-long period.  He’d taught me some very handy techniques though, such as Bukujutsu, the ability to fly by using my ki energy (I hadn’t been able to master my mind like that before), and Zanzoken, or the “blur” affect.  Basically it allowed me to blur out of view and re-appear a small distance away, in a blink of an eye.  This one I’d tried to perfect the most, as I knew speed was my greatest ally.  He’d also taught me how to control all my other various attacks far better than before, and I was sincerely grateful.

            After my ki attacks, I stretched my entire body.  I was far more flexible than before I came under his tutelage.  I could do the splits easily, and I could twist my torso and other appendages into forms I never knew I could before.  After an hour of stretching, I worked out, doing two sets in a weight room in the basement of the Turtle-house.  I asked Roshi once why he didn’t want me to use the gym more often, he said his training methods were engineered more towards speed than strength.  I agreed, but I felt like I was seriously lacking strength now, if I came up against Triono now, he’d probably be twice as strong as me.

            Anyways, after that it was time for dinner.  I commented once on why we didn’t have lunch, he said that we didn’t need it, and I couldn’t agree more.  I was never hungry, in-fact, I was full more often than not, Roshi’s cooking was amazing, and he often cooked enough to feed a small country.  Of course there were no small countries here, just cities with anywhere between 10,000 and 2 million people living in them.

            After supper was a small nap, about half an hour.  He woke me up at 1:30 every afternoon and then we meditated.  This was the biggest challenge for me, I could deal with all the physical stress, but trying to get me to concentrate on becoming one with the surrounding life was near impossible for me.  I didn’t know if there was something wrong with me or no, but I was determined to try and do it, if only to make Master Roshi happy.

            After an hour and a half of meditation, he taught me new things for an hour.  Sometimes this consisted of something as simple as corrected my posture on a punch, to something as big as a new technique.  This was the hour I paid the most attention to, and the only one in which he really interacted with me in any big way.

            After this was close combat training time.  He must’ve taught me eighty ways to break almost every bone in someone’s body by the time I was done training under him.  We did that for an hour, and then at 5:00 I was on my own.  Three hours each day I had all to myself.  True enough I spent most of it training anyways, but occasionally I took Nimbus to the city and bought some food or supplies for the house.

            At 8:00 it was time to go to sleep, and then the next day start it all over again.  For six months I’d gone on like that, day after excruciating day, every day learning something new about my limits, and each time I felt I couldn’t push on any longer, I did.  The results were showing though, that much was sure, I felt a lot more powerful than ever before, and one day I purchased a scouter (seems Capsule Corp. had begun mass producing the things) and checked my power level in a mirror.  It said 710 in the read-out, but I felt that was a bit low, half a year and I’d only doubled my strength plus change?  That didn’t sound right, but I figured I must’ve been suppressing my true power.

            No matter, I was a lot more confident, but I still wondered if Roshi was ever going to even try to teach me the Kamehameha.  Every night while he was inside watching TV, I practiced it.  It was by far my most powerful move, but I still wasn’t up there with the rest of my newfound Z Warrior team-mates, all of which I still had to meet.  I was growing anxious that they were only getting stronger and I wasn’t progressing as fast as the rest of them by training under Master Roshi.

            I was just considering telling Master Roshi that I was grateful for his training, but was ready to move on one day, when he turned to me after we finished meditating and said “Do you think you are ready to learn it?”

            I was shocked and taken aback by the question, I racked my brain to come up with what he meant, but for some reason the answer eluded me and I didn’t reply.  He continued on instead “Well? The Kamehameha is a powerful manuever, do you think your ready?”

            I just nodded, I was un-able to speak, it was like my throat had seized up.  “All right then.”  He said, rising from the ground as I did the same “Let’s go.”

            He walked slowly past me, and then went on into the house.  I followed, walking slowly, my shell bounced slightly on my back, so I loosened and then tightened the straps.

            We walked for what seemed like an eternity, downstairs, to the gym room.  I helped him clear some room so we could have ample space for the teaching of the move.  When we were done that, he turned to me and told me to stand across from him.

            We stood at least 10 metres away from each other, both pairs of eyes fixated on the other, for a good ten seconds before he broke the tension.  “Fire away.”  Was all he said.

            I stood dumb-founded, not knowing what he meant, and then suddenly I realized he wanted me to shoot my Kamehameha at him.  “You sure?”  I asked, I knew I was way more powerful than Master Roshi, and if it came down to a match of strength, it was no contest.

            “Show me what you got.”  He said as he proceeded to fall back into his Kamehameha pose.  I was still considering whether to do it or not, when he suddenly gave me no choice.  “Ka----“ he said, as a small ball of yellow energy began forming in his cupped hands “me---“ he continued.

            I guess I didn’t have an option not to.  “Ka---” I said, and also brought my hands to my hips, preparing the attack.  “me----“  I continued.

            “hame-----“ Roshi bellowed, his aura becoming more and more powerful.

            “hame-----“ I echoed, not knowing if he was going to go through with it or not.  We both powered up our Kamehameha’s to their full extent (which took a few seconds) and then in unison we both screamed out “HA!!!!”

            I whipped out my palms, and shoved the built up river of ki energy from them.  The blue stream of energy met Master Roshi’s yellow beam in the center of the room.  The force was amazing, weights began flying around, and the previously dim room was now ablaze with colour and light.

            At first I didn’t use my full strength, as I was afraid of injuring my mentor.  Soon though I was the one fearing for my life.  I pushed with all my strength through my beam, but no matter how much effort I pressed into it, it just wasn’t enough.  I began sweating beads as I realized Roshi’s beam was over-powering my own, my arms, already tired from a day of training, were beginning to give way, and after only 20 seconds of contact, Roshi over-powered me.

            I tried dodging the attack at the last second, but it was no use, the yellow beam struck me at full force, sending me flying into the wall.  I cracked the wooden wall, but didn’t break it, my shell had cushioned the wall from the blow.  My back howled in agony, and I fell to the ground, my whole body felt like it was on fire.  I tried pushing myself up, but my arms refused to co-operate, they felt like rubber.

            Suddenly as I was trying to get up, I realised I was smoking; literally, I could smell myself, that’s how bad it was.  Master Roshi was to me in an instant, and with his aid I managed to get up.  “How..”  I began, pausing to take a deep breath “how, did … you do that?”

            He studied me for a second, and then said, “That, is the true power of the Kamehameha.”

            I must’ve given him a weird look because he never laughed so hard when I was around afterwards.  “What do you mean?”  I asked.

            He took a deep breath, and I knew I was in for a long explanation.  “The only thing that separated Goku from any of his partners when he trained under me,” He began “and later separated him from Vegeta, was his Kamehameha.  He and I are the only ones who reach the full power of the Kamehameha.”

            “How?” I asked, my head wild with ideas.

            Master Roshi just tapped his bald head, and said “It’s the mind-set of the user.  They must be at peace with all things around them but most importantly with themselves, for it is their own power than fuels the fire of the Kamehameha.”

            With that, Master Roshi walked off, not caring to elaborate any more I guess. So there was something else to the Kamehameha, a connection to nature, and oneself that only two people had ever truly mastered. This, was going to be a challenge indeed.